Foldable crossbow



July 8, 1958 H. c. DUNCAN FOLDABLE CROSSBOW 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 26, 1955 INVENTOR. HOWARD c. DUNCAN ATTORNEYS July 8, 1958 H. c. DUNCAN 2,842,114

FOLDABLE CROSSBOW Filed May 26, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F m n u l2 I 67 I 77 5 Te 52 54 I d l 4 i1 WI .1 Hhlln 6 mm A\ a? 4 8 l2 INVENTOR. F HOWARD c. DUNCAN m as MM/XM ATTORNEYS United States Patent FOLDABLE CROSSBOW Howard C. Duncan, Springfield, 0reg.; Elois E. Duncan, adminislratrix of said Howard C. Duncan, deceased Application May 26, 1955, Serial No. 511,273

6 Claims. (Cl. 12425) This invention relates to crossbows and more particularly relates to foldable crossbows.

Crossbows are quite cumbersome for the bowman to handle or manipulate when the bowman is proceeding through wooded areas or through limited places, such as fences, gates, or narrow doorways because of the arms of the bow which project laterally relative to the stock. These devices are also space consuming when stored away and are difiicult to transport in the average automobile. It is, therefore, a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved crossbow having means to move the bow portion thereof quickly and conveniently between a pair of positions comprising a transverse operative position and a longitudinal inoperative position, Without unstringing the bow.

It is a further object to provide a foldable crossbow having biasing means to urge the bow portion and its mounting structure into each of its folded and unfolded positions.

A further object is to provide a crossbow stock adapted removably to receive a conventional bow.

Additional objects are to provide a foldable crossbow which is light in weight and easy to operate, which is reliable in operation and which has novel trigger means for holding the bowstring in cocked position and for releasing the bowstring.

These objects are accomplished by a crossbow structure employing a bow holder adapted to move the bow portion of the crossbow between folded and unfolded positions. In folded, or inoperative position, the bow is disposed in substantially parallel relation to the stock of the crossbow, and in unfolded, or operative position, the bow is disposed in transverse relationship thereto. Structure is provided for holding the bow releasably in each of the two positions so that when folded it will not accidentally move relative to the stock of the crossbow and when unfolded the bow will be held in the same set position each time the bow is unfolded to provide ac curacy in projecting arrows therefrom. Trigger means are employed effectively for engaging the bowstring to hold the bow in flexed or cocked position and for releasing the bowstring when desired.

The invention will be better understood and additional objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the ac companying drawings which illustrate a preferred form of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the invention may take other forms and that all such modifications and variations within the scope of the appended claims which will occur to persons skilled in the art are included in the invention.

in the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present crossbow, the unfolded or operative position of the bow and its holder being shown in full lines and the folded or inoperative position thereof being shown in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the crossbow stock with parts broken away to show the trigger mechanism, the trigger mechanism being shown in released position;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the trigger mechanism in cocked position;

Figure 4 is an exploded view of the bow holder portion of the crossbow;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the crossbow stock with parts broken away to show the mounting relation between the stock and the bow holder;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figure 6 but showing the bow and its holder in partially folded condition; and

Figure 8 is a View similar to Figure 6 but showing the bow in fully folded position.

Referring to Figure l, the crossbow comprises a stock portion 10 and a bow holder 11 for carrying a how 12 having a bowstring 13. The stock 10 has a barrel portion 14 provided with a top groove 15 for guiding an arrow to be projected by the gun and has a stirrup 17 adapted to be engaged by the bowmans foot to assist in anchoring the crossbow when it is being cocked. The front end of the crossbow is notched to form a vertical edge portion 18, Figure 5, and a slot 19 extends inwardly from the edge portion 18 a predetermined distance. Extending inwardly from the slot 19 is a bore 20.

Referring specifically to Figures 2 and 3, the stock has a vertical groove 24 housing a trigger construction comprising a trigger lever 25 and a catch 26 pivotally mounted in position on transverse pins 27 and28, respectively. Lever 25 is notched to form a pair of detents or shoulders 30 and 31 engageable, respectively, by a pair of shoulders 32 and 33 on the catch 26. Catch 26 has a broad U-shaped notch 35 on its top edge for receiving the bowstring 13 and holding the bow in a cooked position, and the lever 25 has a spring 36 secured thereto which engages the catch 26 and urges the catch and lever in opposite directions of rotation.

Figure 2 shows the trigger mechanism in a released or uncooked position. In this position, shoulder 33 is in engagement with the detent 31 and the notch 35 is in an angular position adapted to release the bowstring. To cook the bow, the bowstring 13 is moved rearwardly along thetop edge of the stock into engagement with the back wall of notch 35. Further movement of the string rearwardly pivots the catch 26 clockwise, and such pivotal movement of the catch 26 flexes the spring 36 and rotates the lever 25 in the same direction, whereby when the parts have moved to their Figure 3 position, shoulder 32 will be engaged with detent 30, and the bow will remain in cocked position until the string 13 is released by movement of the trigger lever 25. A guard member 40 is mounted on the top edge of the stock over the trigger mechanism and prevents the bowstring from accidentally being displaced from the notch 35 when the parts are in cocked position, the member 40 having longitudinal grooves 41 which permit free rotation of the catch member 26. Front and rear sights 44 and 45, respectively, are secured to the stock.

Referring now to Figures 4-8, the bow holder 11 comprises a U-shaped body portion or bracket 48 having right angular flanges 49 and 50 with apertures 51 therein. The bracket 48 fits in the slot 19 of the stock and is held securely in place by screws 52 engageable through apertures 51, as best seen in Figure 5.

Secured adjacent one side edge of the bracket 48 between the walls thereof is a knife spring 54 having one end anchored to the bracket by a pair of pins 55. Bracket 48 is provided with a pair of slots 56 in its side walls and an aperture 57 in its end wall. Slidable in the aperture 57'is "a carrier member S8comprising a stem 59 having threads 60 on one end and a clevis 61 on the opposite end, the clevis 61 being slidable-.- in and guided longitudinally by the slots 56 in the Ll-shaped bracket 48. The space between the arms ofthec'levis 61is approximately the same as 'the Spacebetweeh the walls of-the bracket 48 and the inner surfaces of the respective'bracket-and clevis armsare substantially;coplanar: "The'projecting end of the stem 59 carries ac oilspring 62 and a nut 63. The nut 63 is adjustable on the stem to engage and compress the spring a desired amount against the bottom edge of the bracket, whereby the spring urges the carrier member 58 toward the'bottoni of thebracket. Therefore, any slidable movement'ofthe carrier-memberin the slots 56 toward the flanged end of the bracket will be under the biasing action of spring 62, the biasing action of the spring being readily varied-by adjustment of the nut 63.

Pivotallyniounted on the clevis 61 by a pin 64, which engages in'apertures '65, is a socket-member 66 comprising a flat stem portion or arm '67 having on one end thereof a socket68 and having on its opposite end an aperture'69 for receiving the pin 64. The end of stem 67 adjacent aperture/69 has a round portion 70 and a fiat portion 71,'the end edges of the portions 70 and 71 being in a common plane-Which extends at right angles to the longitudinal center line of the stem 67.

Socket 68 is adapted to receive a bow 12 and, as seen in Figure the bow 12 isheldin aset position by a setscrew'72 threaded in a wall of the socket 68. The bow 12"is thereby easily removed by loosening the setscrew and, if desired, different types o f bows may be used, including a conventional handbow;

In theoperative" position of the crossbow, stem 67 of the socket member 66 is longitudinally aligned with the bracket '48 and the socket 68 is urgedfirmly into engagement with flanges 49 and 50 by the biasingaction of spring 62. Therefore, the socket 68 assumes identical positions after each folding operation to insure accuracy I of the bow held' therein.

As seen in Figures '7- and8, the bow and its socket member-66 are'piv'otal'in a counterclockwise direction relative to the stock. To fold the bow, sufficient rotative force must be applied thereto to move the socket 68 over the edge of the bracket 48, as seen in Figure 7. In moving the socket 68 over'the edge of'the bracket 48, the carrier member 58 slides asmall distance toward the flanged end'of the bracket 48' against the biasing action of the'spring 62. In rotating to folded position the corner of stem 67 engages knife spririg54 and causes said spring to' flex slightly as shown in Figure 7. When the socket 'fmember 66 reaches an over-center position relative to the 'spring 54, the spring urges it to'its folded position, as seen in Figure 8. In fully folded position, the spring 54 lies fiat against the bottom edge of the stem and holds said stem in approximately right [angular position relative to the stock. The upper endof the spring 54, which is "firmly anchored by pins 55, serves as astop means for the socket member when it is'rotated into operative posi- 'tion. Bracket 48 provides upper and lower bearing plates "for the bow holder stem or arm 67 during its longitudinal and pivotal movements.

The instant invention thereby provides a crossbow which-may be readily foldedand unfolded. and which at the same time inoperative position has the rigidity and accuracy of a non-folding crossbow. The bow in folded and strung position consumes substantially no more space than a conventional rifle and may be readily transported in an automobile or stored inlimited places in the home. When hunting in wooded area's'where the bow portion best be folded, the crossbow maybe quickly rendered operative when desired by first unfolding the bow portion to its transverse position and then cocking the bowstring. If desired, the bow 12, which may be specially made for crossbow guns or which'may be a conventional hand bow, can be removed from the socket 68 when the crossbow is being transported or stored.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A folding crossbow comprising a stock elongated in the direction of aim, a pivot perpendicular to said direction of aim mounted for longitudinal sliding movement in the front end of said stock, a bow holder connected with said pivot-for rotation from a transverse operative position to a longitudinal folded position with respect to saidstock, anda spring urging said pivot rearwardly in the stock to hold said how holder firmly in operative position against'the 'front'end ofthe stock when'the bow holder is disposed in-said transverse position.

2.;A folding cr'ossbowas defined in claim 1, said stock having a longitudinal horizontal slot-in its front end and said'bow holder having an arm connected with said pivot within said slot.

3. A folding crossbow as defined in claim 2, including a U-shaped bracket-fixedlysecured insaid slot, said bracket having spaced parallel fiat arms extending longitudinally of the stock along the upper and lower Walls of said slot forming bearing plates on opposite sides or said pivotal bow holder arm. 7

4. A folding crossbow as defined in claim 3, said bracket arms having upturned and downturned'end flanges over- :lying' the front end of the stock to seat said bow holder :in operative position.

5. A folding crossbow as defined in claim 3, said bracket having a rear end portion between said bracket arms supporting-said spring and said pivot whereby the bow holder and entire folding mechanism forms a unit with said bracket for removal from said stock. 6. A folding crossbow as defined in claim 3, including springmeans on said bracket operable on said bow .holder arm to hold said arm perpendicular to said stock .When said how holder is in folded position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Rose May 5, 

